KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 — The unit price index of steel recorded an increase between 0.4 and 3.3 per cent for almost all areas in January 2024 compared to the previous month, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the highest increase in the unit price of steel was in Perak (3.3 per cent), followed by Pahang (0.8 per cent), Penang, Kedah, Perlis, and Kuching (0.6 per cent, respectively).
The unit price index for steel and metal sections remained unchanged for most areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak.
“(However), there was a slight decrease in the price index of this material for Penang, Kedah, and Perlis (-0.8 per cent), Johor (-0.3 per cent), Kota Kinabalu (-0.1 per cent) and Sandakan (-2.2 per cent),” he said in a statement today.
A slight increase was registered in Perak (0.9 per cent) and Kuching (0.2 per cent).
Mohd Uzir noted that the average price per unit of steel, consisting of mild steel round bars and Mycon 60 high tensile deformed bars, was RM3,664.51 per metric tonne, which was a slight increase of 1.0 per cent compared to the previous month (December 2023: RM3,629.77 per metric tonne).
“The month-on-month comparison of the Building Cost Material Index (BCI) with steel bars for all building categories in January 2024 increased between 0.1 and 1.5 per cent for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia.
“However, a slight decrease for BCI (with steel bars) between negative 0.2 and negative 0.5 per cent was posted for almost all building categories in Johor (except timber building and timber piling that remained unchanged),” he added.
Mohd Uzir said that the monthly comparison also showed that the unit price index for cement remained unchanged for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak in January 2024.
“There was a slight increase in the unit price index for this material for a few areas, namely in Penang, Kedah, and Perlis (0.8 per cent), followed by Terengganu and Kelantan (0.5 per cent),” he added.
Mohd Uzir noted that an annual comparison for January 2023 and January 2024 showed that the unit price index of cement recorded an increase between 0.7 and 12.0 per cent for all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak.
— Bernama
